Things You'll Need:
- Reservations
- Maps
- Maps
- Warm clothing
- Cameras
- Cameras
- Walking Shoes
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Step 1
Don't miss the San Francisco International Film Festival, which runs from late April into early May. Well-respected throughout the world, the festival screens a variety of films and puts on gala opening and closing nights and lots of fancy parties for attendees and stars.
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Step 2
Join the parade at Carnaval, held in the Mission District in late May. There's a Grand Parade with a Mardi Gras theme, a street fair and lots of food and live entertainment.
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Step 3
Take the kids to the Pier 39 Street Performers' Festival, held in early June. You'll find jugglers, unicyclists, tumblers, magicians, puppeteers and lots of activities for kids at the Kids Pavilion.
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Step 4
See or participate in the Gay Pride Parade in late June. This is one of the largest parades of its kind and draws hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators each year.
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Step 5
Hit the North Beach Festival, which celebrates its 47th year in June of 2001. The emphasis is on both Italian and Beat culture, so you can hear everything from opera to poetry readings, and there's live music, good food and arts and crafts.
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Step 6
See films with a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered theme at the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, which takes place in June. More than 250 films and videos from around the world are screened, and gay and lesbian filmmakers are honored.
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Step 1
See the San Francisco Blues Festival in late September. Always extremely well-attended and a San Francisco favorite for almost 30 years, the festival includes world-class blues headliners playing at Fort Mason's Great Meadow. Some events are free, so check this out.
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Step 2
Take your favorite chocolate lover to the Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival, held in early September. Sample all kinds of yummy chocolate treats like chocolate cheesecake and chocolate-covered strawberries. A must for chocoholics.
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Step 3
Observe Labor Day weekend at A La Carte, A La Park, a food festival held in Golden Gate Park. The best of San Francisco's chefs offer samples, and there are lots of local wines and more than 20 craftbrews for sale.
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Step 4
See a production of the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival in Golden Gate Park. The festival runs on weekends in September and October and presents the Bard's classics in an outdoor environment.
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Step 5
Check out the fun at Fleet Week, a week-long salute to sailors and the sea held in early October. You can watch the parade of ships, see Blue Angels air shows, tour ships or mingle with sailors to your heart's content.
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Step 6
Take in the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade in late January or early February. The parade is one of the biggest nighttime, illuminated parades in the country and features floats, Chinese acrobats, a 200-foot-long dragon and lion dancers.
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Step 7
Check out the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show in mid-March. See how gardens grow when created by Bay Area landscapers, attend free seminars on various aspects of gardening and buy everything you need to plant your own spectacular garden.
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Step 8
Take in a film or two at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, held in March. This non-competitive festival takes place in several venues around the San Francisco Bay Area.
